The griffin-riding knight didn’t linger in the sky for long. It was as if the griffin’s loud cry was just to announce its presence. He circled a few times in the air, then quickly flew towards the governor’s mansion. It wasn’t until his figure had completely disappeared that the city gate, which seemed to have been paused, returned to normal. The merchants tried their best to calm their agitated horses. Since the contract between an adventurer and a client wasn’t officially over until they reached the Adventurer’s Guild, those adventurers with a strong work ethic continued to diligently work, while others, less concerned with details, started to demand payment from their clients. The sounds of arguments and complaints filled the air.

Selene watched the chaotic scene at the gate, unconcerned—adventurers were a group bound only by the rules and ethics of the Adventurer’s Guild, and the slow speed of information exchange in the Divine Construct made it difficult for the guild to effectively punish them. So, in a sense, adventurers were a group not bound by the law or managed by any organization…

Those adventurers who’d received their payment in advance were considered morally upstanding among their peers. At least, they hadn’t turned into robbers halfway through the journey, had they?

As she was pondering the convoluted historical and societal factors that had allowed such an organization to exist, Richter came over and patted her on the shoulder.

Selene ended her futile contemplation and turned to look at him, noticing that Delight wasn’t there.

“Master said he’s going to ask around and visit a friend. He took the beast and the golem with him,” Richter spread his hands. “He told us to explore and find something that interests us. He’ll find us later.”

Seeing that Selene was about to say “I can’t spend your money,” he quickly said,

“You might not need anything else, but you’ll need new clothes and shoes.”

Selene finally remembered that she was still wearing the blood-stained clothes, and her oversized shoes were still on her feet. The reason her appearance hadn’t attracted the guards’ attention was simply because the high-level treant was more noticeable. But that definitely wouldn’t last.

So, the two began to wander the streets. Richter walked, and Selene, sitting on the treant, chatted with him. Selene had originally wanted him to ride, too, but Richter refused, using his cold as an excuse…

Selene, wondering if there was some kind of chilling magic on the treant that only affected Richter, observed the passersby and the shops lining the streets. She saw not only humans walking on the street, but also beastmen with animal ears and tails, and dwarves with adult appearances but small statures. The former were mostly dressed in luxurious clothes, some even riding in carriages. The latter were more numerous… The shopkeepers were almost all humans and dwarves, with only a few beastmen.

Her curiosity was satisfied, but then some questions arose—why were there so many humans and dwarves, yet the beastmen were mostly wealthy? And why weren’t there any elves, who were theoretically related to her?

Richter answered her questions,

“Lanstier Empire borders the Beastmen Empire, which is to the northeast of Lanstier. The two races have frequent exchanges. But this kind of large-scale civilian exchange only began after His Majesty Evans’ ascension.

“It’s not that all beastmen are wealthy, but the beastmen who come to Lanstier are… This is due to historical factors. Before the Fifth Era, beastmen were slaves and commoners. After the establishment of the Divine Miracle Church, which promoted equality among all races, they received assistance. They became equals to other races. As a result, almost all beastmen believe in the Lord of Glory. They’re from the Allinge Tribal Nation in the South Continent. They’re making a pilgrimage to the Holy City.”

“As for the elves…” Richter seemed to hesitate. “Elves are a very… closed-off race. They like to live in one place and rarely move. It usually takes hundreds of years before they change residences. And Alorn is a new city, only about forty years old. So, you won’t find any elves here.”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

As Richter patiently explained, they entered a clothing store. The dwarf shopkeeper greeted them warmly and thoughtfully found some clothes that fit Selene’s small frame. The two were quickly lost in the shopkeeper’s eloquent praise… By the time they left, Selene was wearing a white dress and a thick cloak in the style of the Divine Miracle Church, and a pair of black leather boots. Richter had also changed into a small apprentice mage’s robe.

This woman, who seemed to have no concept of money, had even bought an outfit for the treant. It was unclear how the simp treant would wear it…

Richter put his purse away. He wasn’t actually心疼 about the money. As a student of Mittal’s Chief Mage, he wasn’t short on funds. He was merely shocked by the otherworldly existence of this dwarf shopkeeper.

“Do you have any other plans?”

Selene thought for a moment.

“I want to go to the bookstore. I feel a little bad always asking you to explain things to me.”

“Then let’s go to the bookstore, but I really don’t mind,” Richter shook his head, “Explaining things to you also helps me reinforce my own knowledge.”

They quickly found a bookstore. This time, the shopkeeper was an elegant-looking beastman. Selene vaguely recognized that he had cat ears. He nodded at them—then his jaw dropped at the sight of the Christmas tree person.

The high-level treant was forced to stand guard at the entrance of the bookstore as a decoration, attracting the attention of passersby.

The shopkeeper glanced at the rare treant. Having traveled all over the Divine Construct, he recognized that it was a high-level superhuman being. Two hundred years ago, it would have been powerful enough to rule a region. But now, it was serving as a guard and attendant for two children. And there were bags hanging from its branches, which could easily break through walls…

He wondered about the identities of these two children, and asked,

“What kind of books are you looking for?”

Selene answered without hesitation,

“Books about the history of the Divine Construct, and the development of the orthodox churches. And a map of the Divine Construct, if possible.”

The shopkeeper quickly found what they needed, carrying a large stack of thick books that could be used as bricks to the counter.

“All the books related to this topic are here. The map is a gift, not for sale. Buy three books, get a map.”

Richter immediately handed over his purse.

“We’ll take them all.”

The shopkeeper sighed. Rich kids. He took nine gold coins and three silver coins from the purse, examined them carefully, then suddenly asked,

“Are you two from Mittal?”

Richter nodded without hesitation. After all, the gold coins were clearly marked with Mittal’s insignia and anti-counterfeiting measures, and he had a bag full of them.

“I’m just a little surprised,” the shopkeeper’s ears twitched, “I heard that Mittal is at war with Tophis, and that the border at Nymph Fu is closed…”

“We came to Lanstier before that,” Richter lied without changing his expression. “So we’re stuck here, waiting for the war to end.”

The “war” had been going on for two months. Mittal’s soldiers had already occupied all of Tophis’s territories except for the capital. The only reason that the capital, which existed in another dimension, hadn’t fallen yet was because Empress Orantes needed the war to continue, at least in name.

But he couldn’t tell the shopkeeper that, so, after a brief conversation, he and Selene sat down in the reading area of the bookstore, absorbing knowledge from the books—mostly Selene, with Richter answering her questions when the books didn’t provide the answers—waiting for Delight to return from his visit.

Selene sat in the adult-sized chair, her legs dangling in the air. First, she began to study the map.

In the north were the Lanstier Empire and the Beastmen Empire, the two nations bordering each other at the Luoyan Mountains. To the west of the continent was a vast forest where the elves lived. The southern border of the forest was close to the Tophis Kingdom and the Allinge Tribal Nation. The enormous Mittal Empire was to their southeast, separated from Lanstier by the Punishing Strait. East of the dwarven empire in the North Continent was a vast, desolate region, and an isolated peninsula was on the eastern edge of the world…

She quickly located her current position—the Alorn-Holy City Grand Canyon, created by the meteor impact, in the heart of the Lanstier Empire.

It was as if a round, disc-like object had struck the earth, creating the Alorn Valley, surrounded by mountains. But the “disc” hadn’t stopped there. It continued moving along the ground, and the canyon connecting Alorn and the Holy City was proof of that.

The “disc” had finally expended all its energy, its weight flattening the uneven ground beneath it, creating a vast plain. A river flowed past it later, and a city rose near the river. That city later ruled over a vast empire.

That was the Rhine River and the Holy City.

Selene quietly looked at the map, then suddenly looked up at the door of the bookstore as if sensing something.

A priest in a platinum robe entered.